John Walter Frederick
Marriages
Maureen Mahaffey
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 7B Obituary - April 6, 2016
John Walter Frederick
September 1, 1940 - March 27, 2016
John Walter Frederick, 75,
unexpectedly passed away
Sunday, March 27, 2016, in
Antigua, West Indies while
vacationing.
John was born in Sheridan,
MO September 1, 1940, to
Clifford and Bertha Wisecup
Frederick. The family moved
to Colorado while he was a
child and he graduated from
Olathe High School.
He met and married Maureen Mahaffey while studying
Agricultural Economics at Colorado State University and they
recently celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary.
He served his country as a Major in the Transportation Corps
of the Army during the Vietnam War and continued serving in
the Army Reserves until 1982.
Upon returning from service, he started his lengthy career in
banking at First National Bank and eventually becoming
President of Grand Valley Bank. John took great pride in his
role in serving and connecting with his customers and the Grand
Valley community in that role. Having grown up on a farm and
taking Agricultural Economics in College he understood what
the Farmers and Ranchers needed and was able to mesh the two
together successfully for the financial backing they needed from
the bank.
John devoted his life to caring for the people in his life and
was incredibly loyal to his family and friends. He had three
great loves: his family, travel and the outdoors. He travelled
extensively in the United States, Mexico and Canada and
discovered international travel later in life. He thoroughly
enjoyed experiencing other people and cultures and was always
looking for the next adventure. He initiated trips to Europe,
South America and Australia with his wife, and travelled at
different times with his four daughters in Europe and South
America. He decided that he needed a couple of guy’s trips to
balance it out and travelled to South Africa, Argentina and Chile
with his sons-in-law. Bravely he travelled to both Jamaica and
Turks and Caicos with his wife, daughters and sons-in-law, and
grandchildren for a couple of special holidays thus sharing his
love of travelling with all of them.
He loved sharing the mountains and the outdoors with others
and his cabin on Grand Mesa which served as a gathering place
for friends and family. John and Maureen opened up their home
and the cabin to those closest to them. John loved to take
everyone out to explore the surrounding national forest areas on
four wheelers. Finally, and most importantly, John was a
devoted husband, father and grandfather. His grandchildren
were the light of his life and he took great joy in taking them
four-wheeling, snowmobiling and spending time showing them
how much he loved them by sharing his love of the outdoors.
John Frederick is survived by his wife, Maureen Mahaffey
Frederick; his four daughters, Nancy Frederick Bell (Scott Bell)
of Dover, OH; Diane Frederick Shay (Lyle Shay) of
Albuquerque, NM; Deana Frederick Weber (Doug Weber) of
Arvada, CO, and Karen Frederick Gallegos (Charles
Gallegos)of Wheat Ridge, CO; and his beloved 12
grandchildren, Nico Mendez, Lauren Mendez, Conor Bell,
Haley Gallegos, Emilyn Bell, Madison Gallegos, Lindsay
Weber, Maisyn Shay, Faith Weber, Brianna Shay, Colton
Gallegos and Caleb Gallegos. He is preceded in death by his
parents and older brother, Gene. In addition, he leaves behind
two sisters, Bonnie Regouby (Jack Regouby) of Tulsa, OK, and
Marilyn Vanderhoofven (David Vanderhoofven) of Delta, CO;
his cousin, Bob Frederick (Cathy Frederick) of Grand Junction,
CO and a large extended family.
John will definitely be missed and the legacy that he leaves
behind is his love for the community and his family.
Memorial services will be April 11, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at
Victory Life Church, 2066 Highway 6 and 50, Fruita, CO
81521. Reception immediately following. Private interment at
Veterans Memorial Cemetery at a later date.
Funeral arrangements handled by Callahan-Edfast Mortuary.
